A Sparkling New Year’s Eve

December 31, 2018

Do you have New Year’s traditions? My husband and I like to stay in and have a cozy evening at home. After our toddler son goes to sleep, we indulge in fondue and caviar, and at midnight our neighbors always have an amazing fireworks display. I wear something sparkly, and we watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on television. It is one of my favorite nights of the year! On New Year’s Day I prepare my traditional black eyed peas for good luck while watching the Twilight Zone Marathon on SyFy (I also highly recommend the complete series box set). Below is a curation of elegant New Year’s inspiration perfect for a grand soiree or an evening for two. Bubbles are a must on New Year’s Eve and for non-alcoholic alternatives, I recommend substituting Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider or Canada Dry Ginger Ale for champagne. Happy 2019!

LOVED the 1956 New Years Eve pictures from Life Magazine that were in the NY Social Diary (a picture shown of CZ Guest). Ah, how lovely when the wealthy had class and dressed elegantly, instead of ridiculously (think the Met Ball). That dress CZ Guest was wearing was perfection as she always was. A gone era….

Happy New Year! As a widow, I have a mixed feelings on this last night of the year. I may spend it alone with my dog rather than a restaurant filled with strangers. I do look forward to the new year but enjoy memories of past NY eves.
I enjoyed your posts of shiny dresses and sparkly filled glasses. But mostly, I loved the one of CZ Guest. What a style and era gone by.
Happy New Year!! Just remember Toddlers wake up early to greet the new day

I am so sorry for your loss, I can imagine this must be a difficult time of year for you. New Years is definitely a time for reflection and treasured memories. And isn’t the CZ Guest picture divine? Make sure to click the link underneath to read the entire feature! 🙂

Thank you for all of your support in 2018, I wish you a blessed New Year!

Thank you for a beautiful post Andrea. Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year or Happy Hogmanay!

I live in the south of England, UK. Here is our New Year’s Eve tradition which we have followed each year for as long as I can remember. This tradition tends to be only followed by those whose family come from the north of England (like my dear Mum) or who hail from Scotland (we lived in Scotland, my age 6-19), so a double-whammy of tradition for me…

Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, the man of the house (he’s supposed to be tall and dark, but we’ve only ever had average sized blonde men in our family) exits the house and waits outside, with a tray, upon which are the following: a piece of bread (against hunger), salt (to bring health), silver coins (to bring wealth) and a piece of coal or kindling (for a warm home). Meanwhile, just before midnight, the women of the house open all the windows to ‘let the old year out’. At midnight the man of the house knocks on the door and is let into the house again, bringing with him all the lucky items as represented on the tray. Then the windows are closed once more.

My hubby (Scottish) and I were on our own last night and we still followed this tradition. In Scotland it’s quite the norm for people to knock on your door after midnight and into the wee small hours (called ‘first footing’), upon which you must invite them indoors for a drink. In Scotland January 1st AND January 2nd are public holidays, for a very good reason…xx